Tran-Reno chooses Vanderbilt

Briarwood's J.R. Tran-Reno (9) during an AHSAA Class 5A quarterfinal game between Etowah and Briarwood on Friday, Nov. 24, 2017, at Lions Pride Stadium in Birmingham.

BIRMINGHAM – JR Tran-Reno is ready to anchor down in Nashville for the next four years.

The Briarwood Christian School rising senior verbally committed to play football at Vanderbilt University, announcing his choice in front of a gathering of family and friends on Tuesday evening.

“It’s a big program,” Tran-Reno said. “They have high academics and their campus is awesome. I love the city of Nashville. That’s what set it apart.”

Tran-Reno took a visit to Vanderbilt over the weekend of June 23, when he met Vanderbilt head coach Derek Mason. He was offered by the Commodores on June 18.

Tran-Reno said Vanderbilt would utilize him on the offensive side of the ball.

“I’m going to start out at running back and kind of shift into something similar to what I played last year, like a hybrid running back and receiver,” he said.

Early in his recruiting process, some schools had shown interest in Tran-Reno playing defense, perhaps in the secondary. Vanderbilt’s willingness to let him play offense was a plus, but was not an ultimate factor in his decision.

“I definitely took it into consideration, but it wouldn’t have been a game-changer,” he said. “I would have done that, because I wanted to do whatever is going to get me on the field first.”

As a junior at Briarwood, Tran-Reno eclipsed 1,000 rushing yards and 500 receiving yards and was named to the Alabama Sports Writers Association all-state first team. He played primarily quarterback through his freshman year. But with the Lions set at the position, he transitioned to the other skill positions, where he found great success.

This fall, Tran-Reno will move back to the signal-caller role and play quarterback for Briarwood, which comes off a runner-up finish in Class 5A last season.

“I definitely look forward to playing that,” Tran-Reno said. “I played that all the way to my sophomore year. It’s going back to my roots. I’m definitely excited to make it this fall and have a good year and go out with a bang.”

Tran-Reno received his first offer in January, from Jacksonville State. In six months, he received 29 offers, but his first from a Southeastern Conference school made the decision clear to him.

“I grew up watching SEC football. It’s always been a dream of mine to play in the conference. I can’t wait to go against the best of the best every week, along with getting a great education.”